Celebration
by Hikari Kaitou
Summary: It's Fai's birthday and everyone is in the celebrating mood; everyone except Kurogane. Now the day is nearly over and Fai is extremely disappointed...until Kurogane decides to swallow his pride and give him a birthday present. KuroFai fluff
1. A Special Occasion

**Chapter 1**

**A Special Occasion**

Golden sunlight streamed through Syaoran's bedroom window that morning (as he had forgotten to close the shutters the night before), awaking him a bit earlier than usual. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, glanced at the digital clock on his bedside table and sighed. Six o'clock. Way too early to be up already.

Syaoran dragged his tired carcass out of bed and closed the shutters with every intention of going back to sleep. He flopped back down on his bed, burying himself in the blankets when a few things came to his attention: one was a faint, faraway sound. It was melodic, rising and falling gracefully. What could it be? It sounded a bit like someone singing but as Syaoran searched his memory, he couldn't think of anyone who might be up at this hour singing. The second thing that he noticed was a ménage of scents, wafting up the steps and slithering through the crack under his door to greet him. Someone, presumably the same someone who was singing, was also cooking something. And it smelled good. And Syaoran wanted it, whatever it was.

Abandoning all thoughts of sleep, Syaoran got out of bed, got dressed, and crept curiously down the stairs, into the café that he and his group operated below their temporary home. As he approached the kitchen, the singing got louder and the scents more powerful and irresistible. He pushed open the kitchen door and found himself looking at… Fai san. Syaoran blinked. He hadn't expected to find the wizard up so early and certainly hadn't recognized the voice as his. Fai didn't seem to mind that Syaoran had walked in on his little performance and continued his song to the end, busily throwing ingredients together, frying, boiling, baking and sautéing things with a speed and accuracy that could have shamed… something speedy and accurate.

"Good moooorning, Syaoran kun!" Fai said cheerfully once he had finished his song, greeting the younger boy with his usual charming smile.

"Good morning, Fai san," Syaoran said with a slight nod, returning the smile. "You're up early this morning."

Fai just continued to smile, not saying anything in response to Syaoran's observation. Syaoran got out the Outo Country map that he and Kurogane had picked up from the Government Office the previous day and spread it out on the counter so that he could study it.

It wasn't long before they were joined by Kurogane who said nothing but made a beeline for the coffee and silently took a seat at Syaoran's side to examine the map over his fellow oni hunter's shoulder. Eventually, Sakura and Mokona came down as well. They both greeted everyone cheerfully and occupied the seat on Syaoran's other side. Sakura had just asked Syaoran about his plans for the day when Fai brushed his hands off on his apron.

"Done!" he said triumphantly, a grin of victory spread across his face.

Spread out on the table before them was the largest, most elaborate meal that Syaoran had ever seen, though it consisted of many things that he couldn't identify and he decided that they must be foreign dishes native to Fai's country.

"Wow, Fai san! That looks amazing!" Sakura exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"Wah! Mokona wants some, too!" the white creature said excitedly.

"Dig in everyone!" Fai sang.

Syaoran, Sakura, Mokona and Fai all helped themselves to a portion of everything though Kurogane was careful to avoid anything that looked like it might contain sugar. The ninja felt it was an insult to his pride to eat sweet things.

"Ahh, oishii!" Sakura sighed blissfully. "You're such a good cook, Fai san!"

"Thank you, Sakura chan," the wizard said with a slight bow.

"How come you made so much yummy food today?" Mokona asked. "Is it a special occasion?"

"Weeell…" Fai said slowly. "Actually…it's my birthday."

"Eh!" Syaoran, Sakura and Mokona said simultaneously, though Kurogane said nothing and looked indifferent.

"Really! It's your birthday, Fai san!" Sakura asked. "Then you shouldn't be making _us_ all this food! We should be doing it for you!"

The blond shrugged, taking another bite of some kind of pastry. "I wanted to do it. I thought as long as it's my birthday, I should make something special for everyone!"

"How come you didn't tell us sooner!" Sakura demanded. "We didn't even have time to get you a present!"

"It's fine, Sakura chan!" Fai insisted. "I don't need anything. I've got Little Kitty chan, Mokona and the Wanko team. That's enough for me." He leaned over, resting his head against Kurogane's shoulder. "Right, Big Puppy?"

"Get off of me!" Kurogane growled, pushing Fai upright once more.

"Ah ah ah!" Fai scolded, wagging his finger. "Since it's my birthday, I get to do what ever I want! And there's nothing you can do about it!"

"Like hell, there's not," the ninja muttered, one hand drifting menacingly to the hilt of his sword.

"Wrong!" Mokona shouted, head butting Kurogane hard in the shoulder.

The ninja busied himself with grabbing the irritating white creature's cheeks and stretching them.

Once everyone had eaten as much as they could, Fai leaned back in his chair.

"Ahh, if I had only been able to find some kolachies," he sighed wistfully, "then that would have been perfect."

"Uh…some…what?" Kurogane asked, one eyebrow raised quizzically at the wizard.

"Kolachy," Fai repeated. "It's this way awesome dessert we used to eat in my country. It was so sweet, and round, and fluffy…"

"Ugh, how do you stand so much sweet stuff?" the ninja groaned, shaking his head in disbelief. "Besides, men shouldn't eat sweet things."

"But why not, Kuro wankooooo?" the blond whined, clutching at Kurogane's yukata. "If it tastes good, you should eat it. Right Mokona?"

"Right!" Mokona replied with an enthusiastic nod.

"Is there anything special you want to do today, Fai san?" Sakura interrupted.

The wizard fell silent as he pondered her question. "Well…" he said slowly. "I think we should explore this world a little more. Maybe we'll be able to find something fun to do."

Syaoran folded up the map and stuffed it in his pocket and the princess began to head for the door. Fai started to follow but stopped when Kurogane didn't move.

"Aren't you coming, Kuronya?" the wizard asked hopefully.

Kurogane glared at him. "No."

"Awwwwww, pleeeeeeeease!" Fai begged.

"No, dammit! I'm not freaking coming so just SHUT UP!" the ninja roared, plucking Fai off of him and quickly moving out of his reach.

Fai looked at him pleadingly for a moment before Sakura gently took the wizard's hand.

"Come on, Fai san. We can still have fun, even if Kurogane san doesn't want to come," she urged.

Fai hung his head and was silent for a few moments. Kurogane was observing him out of the corner of his eye and thought he saw the mage's shoulders shaking slightly. His blond hair was in his face, obscuring much of his expression. The ninja wondered if he was crying; for some reason, the thought caused him a great deal of guilt.

"Fai san?" Sakura said tentatively.

Fai came out of his reverie, and looked at her, his usual grin back in place. "Alright, let's go then!"

Kurogane silently watched them leave, glaring at their backs as they went.


	2. Revelations

**Chapter 2**

**Revelations**

Kurogane returned to his room, intending to read the Magawan magazine that he had bought in the Hanshin Republic. He flicked it open to a random article and began to read. Or rather, he began attempting to read; his concentration was wandering and he couldn't seem to focus it, no matter how hard he tried. Instead, he found his thoughts focusing of Fai. He growled to himself in annoyance; why was it that he could never seem to completely rid himself of that damn mage even when he wasn't there physically? The fact bothered Kurogane very much as he was becoming increasingly aware of just how much time he spent thinking about Fai. What was so special about that dumb ass that enraptured him so?

Curiously, he let his mind mull this question over, just to see what kind of answers he would come up with. The first image to surface in his imagination was of Fai's serene smile. Kurogane felt like punching himself. He spent so much time thinking of Fai because of his _smile_? What a silly answer. It sounded like something a love-struck young girl would say.

As the words "love-struck" floated across his consciousness, he gave a small start. Kurogane hardly knew the meaning of the words but once they had entered his head, they refused to leave. Could he be in love? The mere thought of such a thing made the ninja feel dizzy. He hadn't had a crush since he was fourteen years old, and he was pretty sure that that hadn't been real love. Back then, he'd just been a horny little kid who thought he wanted some action. What was love, anyway? He groped in the dark recesses of his memory for some answer to this question. Eventually, he resurfaced with a snippet of a conversation he had had with Princess Tomoyo long before she had sent him away.

"_Have you ever been in love, Kurogane?"_

"_What the hell…? What kind of question is that?"_

"_Just a simple one. You haven't, have you? I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised. After all, it is hardly in the nature of someone with your profession to love…do you even know what it is?"_

"_Of course I do. I'm not stupid."_

"_But do you really know? You can't possibly understand it if you've never experienced it yourself."_

_Kurogane had stared at her blankly._

"_Love is when… you want to be with someone so badly that it hurts. It makes a bad pain in your chest like your heart is being crushed… and even if you can't be with the one you love, you want them to be happy. When they are content, you feel it too, regardless of what is going on in your own life. If they are sad, it makes you sad. You feel their pain as well as an unimaginably deep desire to be able to take it all away, just so you can see them smile one more time. And when you're apart, you think of them the whole time and find yourself willing to give anything just to have them at your side…does that make sense to you, Kurogane?"_

_Kurogane continued to stare blankly at her. The princess sighed. "Someday you will understand. You'll find love someday, Kurogane."_

As Princess Tomoyo's words replayed in his head, he found that everything suddenly made sense. He finally knew what she was talking about. It was a like an epiphany, a sudden glare of understanding. The strange feeling he harbored for Fai…was love.

Now that Kurogane had made this revelation about himself, everything that he needed to do fell into place. He got up from his chair and set down his magazine. The first thing he had to do was make amends with Fai.

It was late afternoon when everyone finally returned from their outing. All of them were carrying bags; apparently they had come across a market place during their exploration. Kurogane was sitting at the bar waiting for them (though he occupied himself with a glass of sake so that they wouldn't suspect that that was what he was doing). He noticed that Fai was avoiding his gaze.

The ninja approached the group and all of them watched uncertainly, anxious that he might lash out at Fai again. Kurogane, however, had other plans; he reached over to Sakura's shoulder where Mokona was perched and plucked the white creature from his post by his head. Without a word, Kurogane turned around abruptly and went to his room, shutting and locking the door behind him. Syaoran and Sakura looked at each other nervously; what would Kurogane possibly want with Mokona? The ninja had never liked the little round puffball so they were pretty sure that his intentions were far from innocent.

Neither Syaoran nor Sakura was brave enough to ask Kurogane and Fai was looking a bit distraught so they were pretty sure that he wasn't thinking about the same thing that they were. The three of them sat down at a table and looked through their purchases, meanwhile keeping their ears open for cries from help from Mokona.


	3. The Ninja's Wish

**Chapter 3**

**The Ninja's Wish**

Once the door was firmly shut and locked behind him, Kurogane set Mokona down on the surface of his dresser and glared down at him as he tried to figure out how to best phrase his predicament. Mokona met his gaze nervously, silent for once as he waited to learn his fate. After a sufficiently awkward silence, Kurogane finally began to speak.

"You can contact the Dimensional Bitch any time you want, right?"

"You mean Yuuko?" Mokona asked. "Yes. Do you want Mokona to call her?"

"I don't really have any other choice," Kurogane grumbled.

Mokona closed his eyes obligingly, attempting to establish a connection with the witch who lived several worlds away. Kurogane folded his arms impatiently. After what seemed like forever, a thin beam of light shot from the jewel on Mokona's forehead, hit the wall and expanded to display the visual link. The witch's pale smirking face appeared as Mokona opened his eyes.

"Hiya Yuuko!" he chirped.

"Hello Mokona," the witch responded with a nod. "How is your journey going?"

"It's going great! We're in a place called Outo Country right now—"

"Hey, witch," Kurogane interrupted. "I'm the one who called."

Yuuko slid her long yellow eyes over to the impatient ninja, and they widened slightly, her smirk becoming a bit more pronounced as she looked at him. "Well, well. If it isn't the ninja. To what do I owe this…remarkable occasion?"

Kurogane found himself unable to meet her eyes as he mumbled "I have a request to make."

Yuuko's smile widened a little more. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I didn't catch that."

"I have a request to make, alright!" he snarled, finally turning his flaming scarlet eyes on her. "Would you just listen, dammit!"

Yuuko considered him for a moment. "Hmm…"

Kurogane's frown deepened. "What?"

"This request you're about to make…it's not for you, is it?" she guessed, finally looking as if she were going to be serious.

Kurogane was surprised but did his best not to let this register on his face. How did she know? Was she reading his mind? The ninja suppressed a shiver; what a creepy thought.

"By the look on your face, I'll assume I guessed correctly," Yuuko said. "Judging by the urgency you used to get my attention, I'd also guess that this request you're about to make… is for someone very special to you."

Kurogane continued to stare at her, dumbstruck. The witch folded her hands beneath her chin and leaned forward, some of her sleek black hair falling over her shoulder.

"State your request," she said, a slight smile returning to her face. "I am interested to see what you ask for."

Now that she was listening intently, the ninja found himself unable to voice that which he desired. It suddenly occurred to him how stupid his wish would sound and for a moment, he considered just forgetting about it…But the thought of how happy Fai would be made him swallow his pride for once.

"I need…"

Kurogane sighed and sank to the floor, holding the box in his hand. What a humiliating experience. When he had told her what he wanted, the witch had, as expected, taken a profound joy in mocking him for it. But her taunting was nothing to what he knew he would receive from Mokona. He opened his eyes and glared at the white creature.

"You better keep your mouth shut," the ninja warned. "And not a word to that damn wizard."

"Hee hee! Mokona's lips are sealed," he giggled.

The raven-haired warrior looked down at the green cardboard box in his hands and frowned. His precious magazine, gone…

"Kurogane traded his treasured magazine for Fai's birthday present," Mokona sighed dreamily "How sweet!"

Kurogane growled and carefully set the box on his dresser so that he could get his revenge on the little rodent without ruining its fragile contents. This whole ordeal had been a huge hassle. That dumb-ass magician had better appreciate this.


	4. A Precious Gift

**Chapter 4**

**A Precious Gift**

Fai retired to his room early that night. Syaoran and Sakura had looked concerned but the wizard had assured them that nothing was wrong and that he was just tired after having awoken so early to make breakfast.

The wizard sighed and leaned against his closed bedroom door, feeling the familiar crushing sensation of his heart being broken. He supposed that it had been naïve of him to hope for such a thing but… he had fantasized about spending the day with his favorite arrogant, short-tempered ninja. Fai had played the scene in his imagination over and over, changing it a little bit each time as new and better ideas occurred to him. By the time his birthday had arrived, the anticipation had reached such a pitch that it was almost suffocating. Naturally, when Kurogane had so harshly refused to come along, Fai had felt his world being sharply jerked out from under him. Now it was over and he had hardly gotten to spend any time with the warrior at all.

Fai stood there in the dark for a long time, wallowing in his disappointment. Kurogane had hardly even said two words to him. Another part of the mage seemed to awake at the sensing of his weakness. It was a cold, harsh presence that he hadn't felt in so long that he had completely forgotten that it existed. The last time he had heard from it was when he was leaving his world behind…Despite its long absence, its voice was as loud and clear as it had ever been.

_Are you disappointed, Fai?_ it whispered mockingly.

Fai tried to ignore the voice, to shut it back in the closet, but it only laughed at him.

_You idiot. You're just as stupid as you've ever been. You haven't learned a thing on this journey, have you?_

You're wrong, Fai retorted. I have learned something. I've learned that I am able to love again…even after…

_But what good does that do, really? It turned out just like last time; he obviously doesn't feel the same way about you. Anyone with even a particle of a brain could have seen that. You mean nothing to him. Nothing at all. As far as he's concerned, you're dirt. He'd be happier if you were dead and even happier still if he killed you with his own hands. Do you know why that is?_

SHUT UP! Fai screamed mentally, covering his ears as if to block the voice out.

_It's because you're worthless, Fai D. Flowrite. Completely worthless._

I'm—I'm not…

_Yes, you are Fai. You are worthless. You don't even deserve to exist. What makes you think you have the right to burden others with your presence?_

Please stop… Fai begged. Please…

'_Please stop' he says. You make me sick. What, are you going to cry now?_

A teardrop fell and splashed on the hardwood floor.

_Ha, I knew it. Go cry, baby Fai._

"Fai?"

Fai started and looked around the dark room, straining his eyes to make out the owner of the voice.

"Is that you, Fai?"

"M-Mokona?" the wizard gasped, quickly wiping away his tears. "I d-didn't know you were in here…"

"Is Fai ok?" the white creature asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Fai said. "Yeah, I…Everything is fine."

As these words left his mouth, he felt like smacking his head against the wall. Why did he keep telling people that everything was fine when it was the farthest from fine that it could possibly be?

"There's a box here on your bed. It must be for you," Mokona told him, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Huh?...A box?"

Fai approached the bed curiously and turned on the lamp that sat on the table beside it. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden burst of light but as soon as the big black spots in his vision disappeared, he found himself looking at a green cardboard box with a strip of glossy red ribbon tied around it. Fai picked up the box carefully, examining it. It looked like the kind of box that you get at a bakery.

Fingers trembling slightly, he removed the ribbon and slowly lifted the lid. As he looked at the box's contents, his breath caught in his chest. Inside were half a dozen kolachies: the pastries that Fai had mentioned at breakfast. The wizard was frozen with shock; he had been keeping an eye out for these things in every world they visited to no avail. Yet here they were, a box of them sitting on his bed and they were still warm.

"What are they, Fai?" Mokona asked, peering into the box.

"Th-they're kolachies," Fai stammered, still wondering where they had come from. "They're my favorite… but…"

The wizard looked down at Mokona who had a big smile on his face.

"Where did they come from…?"

There was a loud sneeze from the room next door; the ninja's room. A thought occurred to Fai, one that caused his eyes to widen in amazement. He looked back down at Mokona and pointed questioningly in the direction of Kurogane's room. Mokona's smile only widened in response.

"R-really?" he asked, hardly daring to believe it.

Mokona nodded.

"But…where did he get them?"

"He made me call Yuuko and he asked her for some. He traded his magazine for it."

Fai was silent once more, a warm mixture of surprise, relief and gratefulness filling him. His birthday wasn't over yet; maybe there was still time to make his wish come true.

Kurogane sat nervously in the corner of his room, wondering if Fai had discovered the box yet. Unable to keep still, he had taken out his sword and began polishing it just to give himself something to do. He had been rubbing at the same spot for the past ten minutes, not really paying attention to his task. He was more concerned with trying to hear what was going on in the room next door.

When the soft knock came at his door, it startled the ninja so badly that he nearly dropped his sword. The door began to open and Kurogane quickly looked down at his sword and began polishing it furiously, pretending that he didn't notice the presence of his visitor. For about five minutes, nothing happened; whoever was at the door did not enter the room and Kurogane didn't look up to see who it was. Finally, he couldn't contain himself any longer and lifted his eyes to meet those of his guest. As he had suspected, it was the blond wizard standing in the doorway. He was staring at Kurogane with an odd expression that the ninja couldn't classify on his face.

The awkwardness was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. After what seemed like an eternity, Kurogane tore his eyes from Fai, got to his feet, put his gleaming blade back in its sheathe and made to put the rag away in his dresser drawer. Once the ninja was only a few feet away from his visitor, Fai threw himself at him, embracing him tightly, burying his face in the ninja's shirt.

"Thank you, Kurotan," he whispered.

"Umm…what the hell are you talking about?" Kurogane said lamely.

"I'm so happy. Thank you."

"Huh? Just because of that sweet crap? ...It doesn't matter that much…"

"It does to me," Fai breathed. "It means the world to me. You have no idea…"

Maybe, the wizard thought as Kurogane nervously returned the embrace, maybe it wasn't such a bad birthday after all.


End file.
